NOW WITH PICTURES!!
What does the future hold for Baltimore City? No one knows for sure. One way is to examine is to look at the past and present conditions, the other is to look at what's on the drawing board as far as new development. I will attempt to do both while at the same time throwing in my opinion. Sure, the Inner Harbor and its surrounding neighborhoods are nice, but they're aren't my focus. Check out old posts I have added pictures to them!

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Monday, October 29, 2012

TOD in Baltimore as a whole has been something of a broken promise, then again how could TOD be warranted when Rail Transit hasn't taken off the way it has in other Cities. When Baltimore's Green Line was built there were sketches of Mixed Use TOD at Reisterstown Station at the City/County line. Finally 28 years later (the sketches were from 1984) the land surrounding Reisterstown Station and a few other stations along the Green Line are ready for development at long last. But can TOD be warranted when parts of the City and County are still in the midst of a Rail Transit Desert?

In the far Northwest corner of the City one can easily forget that they are still in the City. This due to the fact that this area was built at the same and in some after its suburban counterparts. That means that homes have expansive lawns, garages, and roads are wide to accommodate vehicular traffic as the mass production of the automobile had become the norm for American households.

Despite Baltimore's population loss, Planners wanted to build a massive Heavy Rail Transit System to serve the City and surrounding areas and had come up with a Master Plan by 1968. Funding difficulties and lack of cooperation kept construction of any kind on the back burner for more than a decade to come.

By the time the late 1970s rolled around as was the case in most Metropolitan Areas, there had been a lot of population loss in the Cities but many suburb dwellers were still commuting back and forth to the City day in and day out. With streetcars long gone it was time to reintroduce Rail Transit into Baltimore's landscape to ease commutes. With other Cities losing population like Baltimore, Rail Transit has helped curb the population loss and have been responsible for population growth in the City proper. Could Rail Transit do this Baltimore?

Early renderings of a comprehensive Rail Transit show a north south line (Today's Light Rail or "Blue Line"), an east west line (Future Red Line) and U shaped line that would run from Owings Mills to Martin State Airport (Today's Green Line) with the MARC Camden and Penn Lines acting as regional lines.

This got off to a very slow start with the Green Line opening in 1983 from Reisterstown Station to Charles Center. Planners had still envisioned a much larger and comprehensive Rail Plan as shown in the Charles Center stop which includes a stop for a future line built into it.

In 1987 an extension from Reisterstown Station to Owings Mills opened.

In 1994 the extension from Charles Center to Johns Hopkins Hospital opened.

Rail Transit in Baltimore has been under intense criticism for its entire existence, it has been to blame for "bringing the criminal element from the City into the County." Personally I think that claim is false and if Rail Transit has been successful in almost every other large City in the world then it should also work in Baltimore as well. So this begs the question; What's wrong?

What's wrong is that the existing Rails Line weren't built near anything. They're very out of the way, usually a Transit Line is in the middle of it all to catch high ridership. In a lot of cases TOD shouldn't even have to be built because the ridership is already so high and the area that it serves is built. This provides a sharp contrast to Baltimore's Light Rail and Metro Subway whose only populated stops are Lexington Market and State Center.

So what's the solution? More lines and more development. Rail Transit is one of those weird anomalies where adding more of the "problem" is the solution. The problem with Baltimore is that new lines will have to be re thought and not built along the outskirts of Downtown and the Harbor and into the very epicenter of Baltimore's population. This means rerouting the Red Line Downtown and points east for starters.

But what about lines that are already in assistance? Well that's where TOD comes in. They had it right 28 years ago when they showed a drawing of a fully developed Reisterstown Station and why they strayed away from that method of thinking is beyond me. TOD makes an otherwise under utilized Transit Stop and puts enough housing, retail, there that it becomes a destination in and of itself. Its density is so high that you HAVE to take the Transit Line serving the Neighborhood because using your car is just plain futile.

So what now? Well, developers should continue pursuing vacant sites around existing Stations and building high density mixed use TOD. Reisterstown Station should just be the beginning and wouldn't know it? It's beginning to catch on. Just south of the Reisterstown Station is the Rogers Avenue Station where 400 Market Rate Apartments will be built on surface level parking lots.

After that there are endless possibilities such as Coldspring, Mondawmin, and Penn North along the Green Line on the Light Rail there's Cherry Hill, Patapsco Avenue, and Mount Washington. This will put pressure on the MTA to build a comprehensive Rail Transit Plan including the Yellow Line from BWI to Towson, The Green Line from Hopkins to Martin State Airport via Harford and Belair Roads and the localization of the MARC Lines which will make for the Orange and Purple Lines. Believe me when I say that delivering the promise of TOD at Reisterstown Station 28 years later is just the beginning.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Please note; this post will waste the Tax Payer's money more than the
ICC and makes no logical sense. That being said, I'm writing it anyway
because of my love for the Jones Falls Valley and Hampden Woodberry. So
enjoy the craziness.

Senator Barb saved Baltimore from two huge freeway
projects that would have ruined it. First came the I-83 extension into
Fells Point and Canton. I-83 would have roughly run along Boston St in
Canton. Would Canton have made the comeback it did if there were an
elevated freeway obstructing views of the Harbor? I think not! Same goes
for Fells Point. Would Baltimoreans and Baltimorons alike be able to
enjoy the new Gwynns Falls trail with I-70 and all its pollution running
parallel to it? I think not! Did West Baltimore survive the Road to
Nowhere? Absolutely not.

With the exception of the Road to Nowhere,
Baltimore's highways haven't been all that intrusive. I-695 was built at
the same time as the suburbs which made for a situation that both
developers and highway planners had enough land to pursue their
respective projects. I-95 was going to intrude on Otterbein and Federal
Hill but planners rerouted so that those Neighborhoods wouldn't be torn
down unfortunately Otterbein was vacated in preparation for the new
freeway which resulted in Dollar Row House Homesteading program. I-83
respected Ruxton by joining I-695 rather than running contiguously from
the JFX to the Harrisburg expressway. I-83 for the most part respected
the beauty of the Jones Falls Valley except for one part; The Hampden
Woodberry area. That is what this post will be about. Hampden and
Woodberry used to be just one Neighborhood, the Fallsway helped break
the Neighborhood in two while the JFX was the final nail in the coffin
for the once unified Hampden Woodberry.

When I look at Hampden I see an emerging
Neighborhood that was once a Mill Village but has since become a magnet
for young professionals looking to embrace the culture that is
Baltimore. 36th St. or "The Avenue" has become the year round showcase
for Hampden and just two blocks away on 34th St., the whole street comes
to life at Christmas Time. Hampden's once desolate commercial district
has become vibrant with independent Businesses and Row Homes that were
once boarded up have become occupied once again.

When I look at Woodberry I see a Neighborhood that
was devastated by the closure of the Mills that employed the majority of
its Residents as well as those of Hampden. These mills include but
aren't limited to Meadow Mill, Union Mill, Clipper Mill, Poole &
Hunt, and Mount Vernon Mill. Currently there are plans to bring these
diamonds in the rough back to life with mixed use developments some of
which have been completed while others are in the planning and
construction phases.

Today I-83 is a dividing line between Hampden and
Woodberry with each Neighborhood on either side of it. When I look at
the JFX between Hampden and Woodberry I see what could have happened to
other parts of Baltimore had Senator Barb not intervened and put a stop
to the Highway Construction. Hampden and Woodberry's Mills were built in
their locations because of the Jones Falls and its quick access to the
Inner Harbor. This very important water way is the very reason for
Baltimore's existence.

I think it's high time that Hampden and Woodberry be
reconnected by tunneling the JFX between 29th St. and Cold Spring Lane.
This will unify both Neighborhoods and will allow for new development
to occur around the Woodberry Light Rail which will be renamed Hampden
Woodberry. As it stands right now both Hampden, Woodberry, and Medfield
don't have enough long term housing stock as is to fulfill future
growth. I think new development where I-83 now obstructs it is the way
to go. In fact the Avenue can be extended all the way to Woodberry so
the Light Rail Station and the Mill development won't compete with the
Avenue as they will now be one and the same.

Speaking of the Avenue, a new one can now be created
via Clipper Road. In Medifield Roland Heights Avenue. can be extended
to meet it while Clipper Road can be given lighted sidewalks that will
run all the way to an extended 36th St. Clipper Road will then end at
Clipper Mill Road east of where the current expressway is. The Jones
Falls will be front and center and the entire Hampden, Woodberry, and
Medfield Neighborhoods will be waterfront destinations with the removal
of the above ground freeway. The JFX tunnel can also better connect
Hampden to Druid Hill Park, another casualty of the building of the
Falls Way and now the JFX.

One Mill that hasn't received any attention as of
yet is the real Clipper Mill. The new development in Woodberry named
Clipper Mill was actually that of Poole & Hunt a large cotton &
textile mill while the real Clipper Mill is located deep in the depths
of Hampden on Clipper Mill Road between Union Avenue and Falls Road.
It's actually the only major Mill in the area that hasn't seen plans to
restore it to its former glory. I suspect with its new founded front and
center views of the Jones Falls the real Clipper Mill will see as much
investment that its impostor has.

Now I don't condone taking a stretch of the JFX and
burying it underground, that would be foolish so as a result the entire
content of this post is null and void BUT I don't like how the JFX tears
through Hampden and Woodberry and that route never should have been
approved. Given its constraints (The JFX) both Hampden and Woodberry are
doing great despite the hulking elevated freeway in between the two. I
personally would like to see Hampden and Woodberry bridged together and
the Jones Falls front and center by TOD at the Light Rail Station but I
don't see that happening with the JFX in the way.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

In 1982 Downtown Baltimore and West Baltimore were very different
places. Downtown was still in shambles unless you were at the Harbor or
Charles Center and not a block further from those places. The Westside
of Downtown was feeling the effects of suburbanization while West
Baltimore was entrenched in a decades long drug war centered in
Lexington Terrace and Murphy Homes. This was the urban climate in which
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (MLK) was built. It served and still
does serve as a bypass to Downtown and was supposed to be a quick route
to get to midtown. MLK ends at Chase St. right in between Bolton Hill
and Mount Vernon at the State Center. If MLK Boulevard was supposed to
act as a thoroughfare like it was supposed to it would have had an
interchange with I-83, I'm thinking like a mid to late 20th century
highway planner in order to reenact the climate of 1982 where it was
still a "good idea" to destroy City Neighborhoods in order to build
highways. MLK Boulevard has since become just another north south route
through Downtown with the same amount of gridlock as the very streets it
was supposed to bypass begging the question; Should MLK Boulevard Have
Ever Been Built?

West Baltimore and the western edge of Downtown was something to be
bypassed in 1982 and in the planning and construction years leading up
to it as well. Stately Neighborhoods such as Ridgley's Delight and Barre
Circle had not yet gentrified and Pigtown was in worse shape than it is
now. The Stadiums (M&T Bank and Camden Yards) were a good 10-20
years away from materializing and Lexington Terrace and Murphy Homes
were war zones. So long story short, the MLK Boulevard corridor was in
shambles. The only real draws were State Center and the massive Social
Security Building. These were nothing but Office Buildings without any
Retail or Residences nearby and the workers in those buildings lived in
the suburbs or on the outskirts of the City. Given the state of the
Neighborhoods surrounding State Center and the Social Security Building
workers didn't exactly want to stick around the City after hours.

So this begs the question; What is a bypass? Well as its name
suggests it bypasses a certain area that's congested and provides a
shorter unclogged route. So does MLK Boulevard bypass Downtown? Yes it
does but it doesn't do it in a manner that's much faster than say Howard
St., Calvert St., or Charles St. so in that aspect at least given
today's landscape of the road and its surrounding areas, it fails as a
bypass. Also I can't help but wonder if earlier in the planning stages
if MLK was supposed to be more limited access. Sure, there are the
bridges at the road to nowhere but those still have traffic lights on
MLK. Could MLK Boulevard have originally been a freeway with
grade separated interchanges? I haven't seen evidence of it but I given
the sad state of West Baltimore and the Government's willingness to plow
through distressed Neighborhoods in the name of Highway Construction, I
wouldn't have been surprised if that had been discussed.

Another way to more effectively make MLK Boulevard
more of a limited access freeway to merely cut off access to east west
roads like they have done with Lexington St. Granted there's still a
traffic light there due to heavy pedestrian activity but having other
streets stop and start on either side of the Boulevard would have made
for faster travel times and allowed it to have nothing to do with the
Neighborhoods it's bypassing. With that being said, MLK Boulevard was
quite successful in bypassing Downtown in its early years because the
route it took was relatively deserted.

Then around the late 1980s, Neighborhoods along MLK
Bouleard began to experience one by one. First came Reidgley's Delight
which went through a similar homesteading experience that Otterbein did
just under a decade earlier. Now Ridgley's Delight is an ultra sought
after address.

Next came Oriole Park at Camden Yards Its April 1992
opening date set a new standard for Baseball Stadiums across the
Country and it increased traffic on MLK Boulevard and all of
Downtown during home games so much so that Lee St. got its own exit from
MLK Boulevard while it's still considered part of I-395.

In 1996 the first of two pubic housing high rise
developments were demolished; Lexington Terrace which directly abuts MLK
Boulevard. This scary development was over run by drug dealers, violent
crime, and deplorable living conditions. This and the adjacent Murphy
Homes may have been to blame for the bad reputation of the Boulevard. In
2000 "The Townes at the Terraces" was completed on the site of
Lexington Terrace. This new mixed income Community contains mostly Town
Homes 1/3 of which are market rate home ownership while the rest are
public housing. In addition there's an 88 unit Apartment Building for
Seniors. Upon completion of the Terraces, crime has gone down and the
quality of life has gone up.

In 1998 following the footsteps of Camden Yards
M&T Bank Stadium opened across MLK Boulevard from Camden Yards on
land originally cleared for the first stadium. This, like Camden Yards
set the new standard for building of future stadiums. It most certainly
increased traffic on MLK Boulevard especially during game days.

In 1999 Murphy Homes was demolished, located just
across the road to nowhere from Lexington Terrace Murphy Homes had also
fallen victim to the crime, blight, and drugs that so much of Baltimore
had and continues to from the latter half of the 20th century until this
day. In 2003 Heritage Crossing was completed. As Murphy Home's
successor there's no comparison. Unlike the Terraces the majority of the
new Town Homes are market rate home ownership and a minority are public
housing units. Heritage Crossing also boasts more green space and a
much more suburban appearance. Like the Terraces the successor is worlds
better than its predecessor.

Very quietly University of Maryland at Baltimore
(UMB) has been expanding its campus from to engulf everything from MLK
Boulevard to the west, Greene St to the east, Fayette St. to the north
and Pratt St to the south. Recent additions include

The Institute of Virology Opened in 1996

A new Library that opened in 1998

A Museum of Nursing that opened in 1999

New School of Law Building opened in 2002

New School of Dentistry opened in 2006

Institute of Genome Science opened in 2007

New Southern Quad opened in 2009

New Ambulatory Medical Center slated for 2012

All
of these expansions in both program and space has made for larger
enrollment at UMB and still more traffic on MLK Boulevard. As new
buildings open it gives the University the opportunity to renovate,
expand, and modernize older existing buildings. In addition to the
School itself generating more traffic the adjacent Neighborhoods have
become magnets for Students of UMB. MLK Boulevard has become filled with
Students who live in Ridgley's Delight, Pigtown, Hollins Market, and
Barre Circle and walk to School.

Speaking of UMB and crossing MLK Boulevard, UMB has
been constructing a new Biotech Park since roughly 2005. It's going
along West Baltimore St. in Poppleton on the grounds of dilapidated row
homes. The new heavily guarded park is slated to bring new jobs to the
area and will boost redevelopment efforts throughout Poppleton.

There are future plans along MLK Boulevard; State
Center. The very suburban park is slated to be redeveloped and bridge
the gap between Mount Vernon, Bolton Hill, Upton, Seton Hill, and
Heritage Crossing. This project has had numerous pit falls
and controversies. First off, there are those who think the State
shouldn't be investing that kind of money during a recession, the
State's developers Streuver Brothers, Eccles, and Rouse going bankrupt,
the design having to be modified because McCulloh Homes are no included,
and a host of other hurdles that have halted construction that should
have been underway many times over.

There were also plans at one point to extend MLK
Boulevard to meet I-83. This would be disastrous to all of the
Neighborhoods nearby as it would destroy their fabric and some very
beautiful row homes might be destroyed in the process. It's also
interesting that this wasn't done 30 years ago. MLK Boulevard just stops
at Chase St. where had it continued would have cut through Mount Vernon
and Bolton Hill. These Neighborhoods 30 years ago were in decent shape
while the rest of the Neighborhoods surrounding the Boulevard were not.
That gives me insight into the state of mind that the planners were in
that they only wanted to disrupt poor distressed Neighborhoods while
leaving wealthy Neighborhoods alone. That was just a little side note I
found quite interesting.

Now that I have given a history of MLK Boulevard
from 1982-2012 and beyond it comes time to answer the burning the
question; Should MLK Boulevard Ever Been Built? My answer; Yes, it
started out as a bypass from Downtown heading Uptown with very few
traffic jams. Now that the area has gone through and will continue to go
through a massive transformation it has stopped being a bypass because
it takes almost as long to get Uptown than if you drove straight through
Downtown. So if it failed as a bypass why should it have been built?
Well I will answer that with a question; How could all of these new
Stadiums, gentrified Neighborhoods, and expanded University without this
new road to support the additional traffic?

Saturday, October 13, 2012

There's no doubt that Baltimore has had to put some development
projects on hold because of the great recession and some of those high
profile developers (Streuver Brothers Eccles & Rouse comes to mind)
have gone belly up. That would make reviving some of these once
prospective developments will be that much harder to revive. Now that
the economy is showing some signs of improvement some developers who
haven't gone bankrupt are dusting off their portfolio shelves and
reviving projects they have had to put on hold.

If one drives along I-95 just before the I-395 ramp one can see
that Patrick Turner's Westport is beginning its infrastructure
improvements to make way for its high density waterfront development
with the first apartment building expecting to be completed in the next
couple of years. I'm using the continuation of construction of Westport
construction as a signal for other developers to begin dusting off the
shelves and revive their old projects that I like. Lets take a look down
memory lane at some proposed projects that were on hold indefinitely.

30 East Pratt-Forget Harbor Point and Inner Harbor East, this might
be the most valuable piece of undeveloped Real Estate in the City.
Where else along Pratt St. in Downtown can you find a vacant lot just
waiting for a daring architect to build their dream sky scarper? If you
can't think of anywhere else that's because 30 East Pratt is the only
place. Sure, there are buildings along Pratt St. that due for major
renovations and modernizations to stay current but I can't think of any
that need to be torn down and that's the only way to create more vacant
lots on Pratt St. in Downtown.

Conway & Light St- This was once part of the McCormick Schmidt
plant that graced the industrial Inner Harbor of yesteryear. The
Intercontinental Hotel took up a good deal of this space but there is
still a vacant lot at the corner of Light and Conway that's used as
a pay lot that over charges. There was a proposal to build a sky scraper
here that was promised to alter Baltimore's skyline. This modern
building is expected be mostly glass and contain a mix of uses including
a Hotel, ground floor Retail, and Apartments or Condos. Like 30 East
Pratt this is a prime piece of Downtown Real Estate especially when
considering how close it its to the Stadiums and Light Rail.

Guilford/Holiday/Saratoga- This little known piece of land at
the eastern edge of Downtown what had a proposal to build a mixed use
centre that would most likely be Offices and Retail. Located just steps
from "the Block" it wouldn't be the best location for Residential uses.
Given that there won't be much of a reduction in the amount of vacant
office space Downtown especially when considering that Exelon is
building its big new headquarters in Harbor Point and that will vacate
the Constellation Energy Building. I don't see this project at Guilford,
Holiday, and Saratoga getting off the ground anytime soon. It should at
the very least still be talked about so it doesn't fall through the
cracks.

The Mechanic Opera House-The victim of Charles Center Era
architecture was shuttered and is awaiting redevelopment. Davis S.Brown
Enterprises is looking to redevelop it and reopen the old opera house in
a modern venue with Retail surrounding it and a Hotel and Residences
above it. There have been pitfalls other than the recession for this
ugly building, mainly conversationalists who think its architecture is
historically significant. I whole heatedly disagree with them and
believe that this prominently located parcel (Charles and Baltimore
St.and just steps from the Metro) is holding back a potential revival of
Downtown's Charles Center District. I say redevelop the Mechanic full
speed ahead.

Waterview Overlook- Cherry Hill is finally realizing that it has
some waterfront access to the Middle Branch. With the Billions being
reinvested next door in Westport a developer before the recession saw a
vacant parcel of land in Cherry Hill along Waterview Avenue and bought
it. It was rezoned to permit the construction of Condos and Town Homes
named Waterview Overlook. Although located in Cherry Hill one wouldn't
have to drive through Cherry Hill to get there. Developers cleared the
land to start construction but then the recession hit and Waterview
Overlook's developer went bankrupt. Earlier this year the land was sold
at a bank ordered auction. Since the land is zoned for a project like
Waterview Overlook it's safe to say that the whoever bought this land
will revive it in some way unless they seek to rezone it.

Vistas on the Lake- Finally a development that takes advantage of
Druid Hill Park's breathtaking views. Vistas on the Lake, proposed to be
located in Reservoir Hill on a vacant parcel with Druid Park Lake Drive
frontage overlooking the lake. Reservoir Hill has been on the verge of a
comeback for many years and resurrecting Vistas on the Lake would be
give it a huge shot in the arm. Although this project was been shelved
due to the recession it was officially taken off the books when HUD
claimed that the land it was to be built on had a lien on it that only
allowed for Section 8 housing. I think the lien is a hindrance to large
scale redevelopment throughout distressed areas of Reservoir Hill and
should be lifted if only for the sake of Vistas on the Lake.

Residences at Lexington Market- The Westside of Downtown has had
some modest success stories by rehabbing old buildings but there hasn't
been much in the way of new building. The Residences at Lexington Market
would have consisted of two high rise Apartment Buildings, a high rise
Condo Building and 23 Town Homes all built atop a small parking garage
(pictured above.) In addition to being a great asset to Lexington Market
these 300+ new homes would have breathed new life into the Retail of
Downtown's westside which is still suffering from the flight to the
suburbs half a century earlier. This project was supposed to be built by
the same developers as Waterview Overlook which had gone bankrupt. I
haven't read anything regarding the resurrection of this project. I
would love to see this built considering its proximity to both the Light
Rail and Metro, this whole area could be a transit hub if done right.

O'Donnell Square- Located in the up & coming Greektown
Neighborhood Ed Hale of 1st Mariner Bank Fame had purchased an
old industrial swath of land near the recently completely Athena Square
Town Homes on Oldham St., O'Donnell Square was supposed to be roughly
1100 units of luxury Apartments and Condos in high rises. What has been
built so far without Ed Hale's backing has been 121 Town Homes. Given
how well Athena Square sold during the recession, I think this was a
wise choice for now. Given how close to the Harbor and Canton this is I
would advise that the remainder of the land be used for Apartments &
Condos. Supposedly that land is zoned for about 800 additional units
but no further development plans have come through as of yet.

Somerset Homes- This once distressed public housing development was
demolished in 2009 to make way for an empty field at least that's
what's there now. Then Mayor Shelia Dixon had this development
demolished without any real plans or funds to rebuild. The land has been
banked as part of a land banking program that former Mayor Dixon had
championed. When the Master Plan for the Oldtown Mall area was completed
it listed a few different options of varying densities to build on this
land. I prefer a mix of high density Apartments and Town Homes with a
mix of incomes. Given that East Baltimore is experiencing a rebirth due
to the Hopkins Biotech Park and associated residential redevelopment the
site of Somerset Homes will become a valuable piece of land.

Gateway at Washington Hill- Also near Hopkins in East Baltimore in
the hot Washington Hill Neighborhood next to Butchers Hill this vacant
parcel of land has been zoned for high density Apartments with ground
floor Retail. The Retail will provide a much needed niche for Residents
of Washington Hill, Butchers Hill, and Broadway Overlook who feel their
Retail options are limited because East Baltimore's Retail hasn't caught
up with the influx of new middle class Residents. Unlike some of the
other developments discussed in this post, Gateway at Washington Hill
is a lot closer to getting built. I think Gateway at Washington Hill is
proof that East Baltimore has turned a corner for the better.

I'm happy to say that the environment for building in Baltimore has
become friendlier in the past year although not perfect it's definitely
better than it was from 2007-2011 and with that good news
it's time to dust off the shelves and revive these and more great
projects.